For many ligands of the TNF family, trimer stability and oligomerization status are crucial determinants of receptor activation. However, for the immunostimulatory ligands CD27L, CD40L, 41BBL, and glucocorticoid-induced TNF receptor ligand (GITRL) detailed information regarding these requirements is lacking. Here, we comprehensively evaluated the effect of trimer stability and oligomerization o...

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1) controls the rate of entry of long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondrial matrix for beta-oxidation and has been reported to exist as an oligomer. We have investigated the in vivo oligomerization of full-length rat CPT1A (rCPT1A) along with those of the N-terminal truncation/deletion mutants Delta(1-82), Delta(1-18), and Delta(19-30) expressed in yeast ...

Coiled coils are well suited to drive subunit oligomerization and are widely used in applications ranging from basic research to medicine. The optimization of these applications requires a detailed understanding of the molecular determinants that control of coiled-coil formation. Although many of these determinants have been identified and characterized in great detail, a puzzling observation i...

CC chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) and CCL3 are critical for immune surveillance and inflammation. Consequently, they are linked to the pathogenesis of many inflammatory conditions and are therapeutic targets. Oligomerization and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) binding of CCL5 and CCL3 are vital for the functions of these chemokines. Our structural and biophysical analyses of human CCL5 reveal that CCL5 olig...

Lsr2 is a small DNA-binding protein present in mycobacteria and related actinobacteria that regulates gene expression and influences the organization of bacterial chromatin. Lsr2 is a dimer that binds to AT-rich regions of chromosomal DNA and physically protects DNA from damage by reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI). A recent structure of the C-terminal DNA-binding domain of Lsr2 provides a rat...